Startups start with talent, and the talent, as we all know, seems to get younger every year. But it wouldn’t happen if children themselves were not introduced to the word of technology and engineering early, and shown that it can be a fun, creative environment. For the last 6 years, a pioneer of this in the UK has been Young Rewired State, a non-profit founded by Emma Mulqueeny, which… Read More

TechCrunch interviews Eileen Burbidge, Partner at London VC firm Passion Capital, where we discuss her early days working at Skype and Apple, the types of startups she invests in, her close ties to the U.K. government, the upcoming EU in-out referendum, and women in technology. Read More

Google said “non.”
In a blog post, Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer explained why Google wouldn’t comply with the French data protection watchdog demands. The CNIL wanted the American company to widen its implementation of the so-called European ‘right to be forgotten.’ In its current implementation, Google only delists results from the Google.fr and… Read More

We’re continuing to announce speakers for our TechCrunch Disrupt London conference on December 7-8, 2015. The conference will feature an amazing slate of global startups, investors, influential speakers, VIP guests and more.
Niklas Östberg, Delivery Hero
Niklas Östberg is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Delivery Hero. Niklas has been involved in the start-up scene since… Read More

In many countries, when it comes to regulating bitcoin companies, it’s still mostly a work in progress. Some governments want to restrict bitcoin quite a lot, while others are adopting a more favorable stance. The U.K. has been the financial hub of Europe for decades now, and it looks like it plans to do the same thing with bitcoin. Read More

Iwoca, one of the booming cluster of fintech startups coming out of London, has raised a $20 million series B round from the VC arm of Germany’s CommerzVentures, Acton Capital Partners, the Munich-based private equity and VC firm Redline Capital and other existing investors. The funding will be used to grow the lending platform’s European business. Iwoca offers flexible financing… Read More

UberPOP wasn’t the only victim of the recent taxi protests in France. Other ride-sharing companies Djump and Heetch were affected as well. While it’s still unclear what’s going to happen with Heetch, Djump will be joining French transportation company Chauffeur-Privé. Read More

FreedomPop, the U.S. wireless carrier startup that has been building a business based on completely free voice and data services, has raised another $10 million in funding from two strategic investors, the pan-Asian mobile carrier Axiata and an unnamed tech investor based in the U.S., the company is announcing today. The deal with Axiata will mean that FreedomPop will be expanding its free… Read More

Latest Crunch Report

Vaniday, the online marketplace for beauty and wellness professionals co-founded by e-commerce behemoth and ‘startup builder’ Rocket Internet, has bagged its first major round of funding.
The burgeoning company has raised €15 million of investment from Rocket Internet and others — money co-founder and CEO Maxime Legardez tells me will be used to bed down in existing markets… Read More

Communications apps that strike a chord with users across different markets are hot property these days, and it looks like another one of them may soon enter the so-called unicorn club. TechCrunch has learned that Truecaller — a caller ID app that now has 150 million users — is looking to raise around $100 million at a $1 billion valuation.
We’re hearing that Truecaller… Read More

While eBay is doubling down on its core business after its split from PayPal, an upstart out of Europe is looking to muscle in on the business where eBay first made its name, collectibles. Catawiki, a Dutch online auction business, has raised $82 million to scale its business on the continent and beyond.
The Series C was led by Lead Edge Capital — an investor in other e-commerce… Read More

Equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs has raised a $15.6 million (£10 million) Series A round led by Woodford Patient Capital Trust plc (WPCT) and Augmentum Capital, the money from which will be used to launch in the U.S. market. Seedrs had previously raised $7.2 million from Faber Ventures and it’s own crowdfunding campaign. Read More

Back in March the Vector — a smartwatch with an e-ink LCD screen — made its debut in a number of reviews in the tech press. Of note was the unusual 30-day battery life and a smartphone control app which worked across iOS, Android and Windows phones. What wasn’t elucidated in detail at the time was that the startup not only planned to release an API to developers, allowing them… Read More

Listen to KashFlow founder Duane Jackson discuss his conviction for drug trafficking, the transition from prison life to startup life, why he shunned VC money, and his company’s eventual and successful exit nearly 4,000 days after he left prison. Read More

French hardware and IoT startup Smiirl hit pretty early on the idea of a mechanical Internet of Things-styled ‘Like’ counter for Facebook that bridges the digital and physical worlds, enabling businesses to proudly display their ‘social proof’. Read More

Deliveroo, the ‘on-demand’ startup that offers food delivery from premium restaurants that don’t traditionally offer a take-out service, appears to be on somewhat of a roll. Today the company is disclosing $70 million in new funding, money it plans to use for further international expansion. Read More

PragueCrunch IV is an annual celebration of all things central European and startupy and it’s coming back on Friday, July 31, 2015 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM (CEST). We’ll be holding the event on the terrace at Střelecký Ostrov. If you’ve been to any of the previous events you’ll know it’s a good time.
We have special early-bird tickets available now right here so… Read More

U.K.-based members-only luxury travel site, Secret Escapes, has pulled in a $60 million funding round, with investment coming from new investor Google Ventures, along with existing investors including Index Ventures and Octopus Investments. Read More

Yahoo’s well-worn acquisition trail to bring tech and talent back into the Internet company has been one of the more notable hallmarks of life under CEO Marissa Mayer. And while M&A appears to have slowed down significantly in 2015, it’s not stopped altogether: Yahoo quietly made an acquisition in Europe earlier this year to build out its advertising business in the region… Read More